If You're gone
by Booberrychan
Summary: After a horrible accident, Orihime Inoue is faced with a deal by her deceased sister. In making the deal there is one catch-she must marry and mother her sisters' Husband and Child. Other Pairings inside, is OOC and AU. Please R&R!


**Title:** _If You're Gone_

**Rating:** M, or R

**Author:** Booberrychan

**Summary: **After a horrible accident, Orihime Inoue is faced with a deal by her deceased sister. In making the deal there is one catch-she must marry and mother her sisters' Husband and Child.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters contained within this Story. What you see is what you get; Bleach is owned by Kubo Tite, and Shonen Jump.

**Author's Notes: **This is my first AU Fan fiction, the character's will probably most likely be OOC, so if you were hoping for something different then I'm sorry my friends but… you were indeed wrong. The Main Pairing: IchiHime. Side Pairings: RenRuki, GinRan, HitsuMomo, and if I get the time or think of anyone else then I will include that pairing in the following chapters. In the mean time… enjoy!

_It was early spring, right when the cherry blossoms where at their peak of beauty. The weather was is splendor, and the sky hadn't had a grey cloud in a while. It truly was the most gorgeous day; too bad, it was the most depressing day of the year…_

"Oi, Orihime if you keep stopping I'm going to end up losing you!" a young girl called. The other girl giggled and complied into following her older sister. Orihime and Rukia Kuchiki were the only two sisters alive who have the Kuchiki nobility flowing through their veins. The two siblings were portrayed as polar opposites. One could almost call them night and day; the oldest being Rukia was a pale skinned, raven haired, and petite. Although she was brought up to be a noble figure, she often times forgot of her place and did things that were considered… uncalled for. Whether it was her childhood friend Renji who taught her how to rough house with men, or gamble was still yet to be answered. Although one thing is for sure, whenever her loved ones needed her, she would always be there for them. Orihime Inoue Kuchiki, the youngest sibling, was always carefree and contained a sunny disposition where ever she went to and fro. She was always complimented on her good looks, what with her cute imagination, fair skin, and estranged auburn hair. She always seemed to make people smile whenever she was near or around company.

It would be an understatement to call these two girls sisters. Yes, a grave understatement. For these two were more than just sisters or friends, they were almost like twins. Whatever one had, the other one had, and were completely inseparable. "Rukia-chan look, I found this little kitten isn't she cute?" the auburn girl held up the black feline cat to show her dear sister, the cat 'meowed' in response. Rukia chuckled, "Yeah, it sure is, if you find me a bunny then I'll think about taking it home." Orihime smiled. "Oh really, Well in that case-" Rukia grabbed at her sister's collar before she could sped off anywhere else, causing them to waste more time than they already have. "C'mon Orihime, if we don't get to Nii-sama's house soon, then he'll be angry at us," she explained, dragging her auburn sister with her to the large estate's gate. "More than usual…" she muttered under her breath.

Kuchiki manor was one of the largest estates in Japan. It held rooms and rooms of butlers and maids that attended to the owners- who were waited on hand and feet. The Estate was extremely large, and was exquisite; it was encircled around ponds- which contained numerous types of fresh water fish in them. It had a large wooden gate to keep intruders out, and giant stone walls surrounded the large Manor. It truly was at the epitome for beauty and art, things that suited the owners taste. Once the two women received the 'Ok' to go inside, the wooden doors opened, and allowed them upon entry. "Hello Rukia-san, Orihime-san." a man with glasses and brown hair greeted. The man was a butler and seemed to always be smiling, even when being insulted. A shiver ran down Orihime's spine at his mysterious facial expression. "H-hello…" the auburn girl greeted back, struggling with her smile. The oldest sensed her sister's distressed and dismissed themselves from the man's presence, so they could not engage into any more conversation. When out of reach from the shady man, Rukia whispered to Orihime, "Are you okay?" as they continued making their way to their brother's direction. Orihime nodded and smiled, whispering a 'Thanks' to her older sister for her concern. '_What was that? That feeling I got from that man. I've never felt more…scared.'_ Orihime began thinking back to the man and how mysterious he was, _'I'll have to talk to Nii-sama about him.'_

The Two entered the large room, which was held for meetings, the one room their brother always spent time in the most during the day. "Rukia, Orihime, I have an important matter to discuss with you two." the older man they called their 'Brother' spoke. His tone regal and refined, he truly was the symbol of nobility. The servants opened the doors to reveal a young boy. He had the brightest hair in the room, his orange spiky hair stood out against his tan skin, the kind you get from doing hard labor outside. His brown eyes were shown underneath his bangs, and a scowl tugging lightly at his lips. _'How strange…'_ Rukia and Orihime both had the same thought's running through their heads. "The boy you see before us is Kurosaki Ichigo. He is the heir to the Kurosaki chain." the two girls gulped. "As you should both already know, the heir to every sort of registered nobility must always need a wife of equal or higher nobility," their brother glanced at Ichigo for a second. "Upon, seeing as how I have two sisters, and that Kurosaki here is in need for a wife, I have given him the opportunity," he paused for a second, glancing at the worried looks on his siblings face's. "…To have Rukia, as his bride, for she is indeed the oldest." he finished shuffling paper work and ignoring the dismayed looks casted upon him.

Ichigo said nothing as he cleared his throat ready to speak. "If it's alright Byakuya, I'd like to take her to my homestead today, for I have other important matters and meetings later on." the older man gave his approval and continued his work. Ichigo walked over to Rukia and outstretched his hand to her, "I know that this seems all so fast and everything, but if you please…" Rukia said nothing but stared at the hand before her. _'Nii-sama… why're you doing this, I've never met this man before; I don't want to leave Orihime or home.'_ Rukia choked back her tears as she accepted Ichigo's hand and followed him out of the room. When they had left the room, Orihime broke out in tears, "Rukia…" she cried, sobbing and hiccupping as the uncontrollable feeling of grief and melancholy filled within her head and heart. It would be for the first time that she would not only be without her sister, but that her sister would also have something that Orihime could not. Rukia heard her sibling's cries down the hall and began feeling the tears flowing down her eyes; she bit the inside of her cheek to keep her self from sobbing. _'Orihime… I'm so sorry that I have to leave you, please don't hate me…'_ Rukia began whipping her tears away. As Ichigo and Rukia began walking farther, Orihime's cries grew softer, and softer, until they could no longer be heard no more.

After Orihime's tears died down, Byakuya approached her holding a handkerchief in his hand, as he offered it to her. Orihime gladly took it form him and began dabbing her eyes with it, as she tried to steady her breathing. "Orihime… you should know of the duties that are dealt with by being a woman. You can see Rukia anytime you want to, she will just be a little bit farther away from home." he reassured her placing an arm around her. _'I am sorry Orihime. I am sorry Sora…'_ Byakuya stood up and exited the room calling a maid to escort Orihime out of the room, and to prepare her for Rukia's departure.

"Orihime… are you alright?" the young maid in training asked, as she pulled the sniffling girl into a warm embrace. "Tatsuki-chan… what am I going to do? Rukia-chan is gone, and she's getting married to some…_boy!_" she said, saying the last word as if it was a vile thing. Tatsuki gave her friend a sympathetic smile, "Well, you could always visit her when you want to, and you get to see her before she gets married," her friend stated. Orihime looked down at her hands, "That's what Nii-sama said, but, what if her fiancé doesn't like me? What if I'm not welcomed into his home?" she questioned worriedly. Tatsuki pondered what to say for a moment and then smiled back, "Well, he can't kick you out if that's what you're thinking, because it's not just _his_ house, it's _their_ house." Orihime thought of what her friend said for a second and smiled her famous smile, "You're right, it's Rukia-chan's home now too!" at this Orihime gave her best friend a hug, and took off running to her room, ready to see her sister get married. Tatsuki frowned once Orihime left, _'I hope Rukia is safe, knowing Ichigo he'll…no! I-I'm just getting myself all worked up, she'll be fine, I know it, she can take care of her self.'_ Tatsuki made her way towards the window, seeing Rukia ride into a black expensive car. _'Will she…? Ichigo… I swear if you do anything wrong…'_ she narrowed her eyebrows glaring at the car as it drove off towards Kurosaki manor.

_Knock, knock_

Tatsuki snapped out of her thoughts, "H-hai, I'm coming!" she answered as she made her way towards the door. "Why, hello Tatsuki-san, what're you doing in here?" the same man that Orihime and Rukia met before asked. Tatsuki felt nervous being in the same room alone with the mysterious butler known as Sosuke Aizen. "Nothing." she replied hastily and pushed her way past him, wanting to be anywhere but here with him. Aizen smirked and entered the room, closing and locking the doors behind him in the process.

The car ride to Kurosaki manor was a tremendous mistake; he not only ignored her entire trip, but ordered the driver around, snapping his fingers at him and such. Rukia had an image of what the boy was like already, spoiled. He was a spoiled, angry brat who desired nothing more than money and power. What made matters worse, was that when he cursed at one of his workers on the car's phone Rukia had cursed him out for being arrogant. Thus, Ichigo glared at her amused, and angered at her disrespectful antics.

Truly, she was indeed marring a man whom was wrapped up in work than with her or anyone else for the matter. "Gin, take care of this will you?" ordered shoving Rukia in the silver haired man's direction. _'You dirty son-of-a-'_ her thoughts were interrupted as the silver haired man grinned at her, almost like a fox's. "Well, well, well, Rukia-san, what a pleasure to meet you!" the man greeted her signaling for her to follow him. "You know, it's such a relief to see Kurosaki-san paying attention to his love life," Rukia glanced around her at the paintings and expensive décor. "_Attention_?" she scoffed, "I don't think that word has anything to do with anyone else but him in his mind," the man laughed at her mockery. "I see. You truly are a unique girl, although he isn't so…_warm_ as you'd want him to be, he is in fact a very fine Master." the man said entering a room, holding the door open for her to enter in. "This Rukia-san, will be where you will be fitted into your dress." Rukia looked at small dress screen and numerous patterns and scattered cloth around her. It looked like as If the room had a sewing tornado, what with all the misplaced items everywhere.

"Momo, Rangiku!" the man called. Two women entered the room, one was tall and had strawberry-blonde hair, along with icy blue eyes, and a mole by her mouth, alongside her was a smaller woman, with brown hair swept into a bun, and brown eyes. "Girls, it seems Kurosaki-dono has taken it upon himself to catch himself a fiancé. Therefore, he needs you two, to dress her upon in the most gorgeous evening gown possible for the party tonight." the two girls gawked at what the silver haired man had said and stared at Rukia, their mouth's agape. "Kurosaki-dono?" they both shouted in surprise, seeing Gin nod the two began gossiping amongst themselves forgetting the task at hand, "But I thought he was you know…gay." the blonde woman whispered to her friend. "How scandalous that all of a sudden he'd marry a woman, let alone a woman as beautiful as she is." the brown haired girl pointed at Rukia. Gin cleared his throat, earning there attention, "Ladies, I leave you to your work." and with that he said his goodbye's and left them to there work.

It was around Noon, and every noble or important figure showed at the party. Even the Shihoin, whom are usually busy and do not attend social gatherings. Orihime searched for her older sister through the crowd of bustling people, it was exciting and sad at the same time to see her sister married off. She soon spotted a long purple gown, and over the guests head's she could see orange hair. _'Rukia!'_ she smiled and made her way towards the newlywed's direction. "Rukia-chan!" Orihime called pulling her sister into a hug. "Orihime-chan, I'm so happy you came!" Rukia smiled, as her Indigo eyes shined brightly. Ichigo took note of the two siblings from the corner of his eye as he shook hands and thanked the guests for coming. "You look so beautiful; I can't believe you got engaged so soon." Orihime stared in awe at the beautifully made white silken dress, courtesy of Rangiku and Momo. As Rukia opened her mouth to speak a voice made her stop, "Rukia c'mon, we'll be late for our ride." Ichigo called to her, placing his hand on her small shoulder. Orihime stared at the man, hoping he would acknowledge her presence. "Ichigo let me introduce you to my sister her names-" Ichigo released a breath of air in an annoyed matter, blowing his bangs up. "-Kuchiki Inoue Orihime," Rukia finished, anger boiling up at his rude action. "Hello Kurosaki-kun, it's nice to meet you, I'm sorry about earlier in my Brother's estate." Orihime greeted, feeling her sister's anger, and out stretched her hand to greet him. Ichigo simply stared at her hand, almost as if it were an abnormal object that he was not familiar with. Orihime, taking the hint withdrew back her hand and used to scratch the back of her head at the embarrassment she felt. "C'mon Rukia…" Ichigo gruffly said pulling her away from Orihime, once again.

Rukia had no choice but to see her younger sibling being farther, and farther away from her. When she was about to leave through the doors and into the limousine she mouthed to Orihime 'Goodbye'. And that was the last time Orihime ever saw her older sibling ever again.

It had been eleven years since that day, Orihime had never gotten the chance to see her, or Ichigo, or there home; or more importantly, there daughter.

Now that time had passed and moved on here she was, buried six-feet under the earth. Orihime watched as people mourned and placed white lilies on her sister's grave. What do you think might have caused this, you're wondering? It was the Fire. The fire that charred everything in her Sister and Brother-in-law's manor; the fire that took the life of other's like: Gin Ichimaru, Sosuke Aizen, and Kaneme Tosen. The fire that took her sister's life away, the fire that was lit carelessly by someone. Now that her sibling was dead who would take care of her husband, who would take care of Nel- there only child? Hours and hours, time passed by and soon all of the mourners were gone. Orihime walked to her sister's grave, and fell to her knees placing her hands to her face as she sobbed, and cried, letting all of her feeling go. As she tried to calm herself down, she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Nii-sama…?" Byakuya handed Orihime a parcel, encased by the Kuchiki seal. "Here, Rukia left this for you." he said his face emotionless, Orihime took the parcel and held it close to her chest, whishing it wasn't a package but her sister instead. Byakuya left and headed towards his car, _'I'm so sorry Hisana…I failed you.'_ and with that his car door closed shut, and was speeding towards the Kuchiki estate.

When Orihime had decided to take leaving, seeing as how it was getting dark, she wandered back to her small home, given to her by her brother. She opened the small wooden door and closed it, sighing as how she was exhausted from the great amount of grief placed upon her. She got her self settled into her home, and made some tea. When she was all cozy inside her little home she drew in a deep breath and began to open the parcel. Inside the envelope contained a letter that fell out, Orihime picked it up, and inspected it seeing that it was addressed to her she began to read it.

_To Orihime:_

_I know that we haven't been able to talk to each other in a while. I am sorry; I can't say anything else other than that. I have a family now, Ichigo and I have a baby girl, her name is Neliel Tu Kurosaki, she's my most precious Gem in life. Orihime… in case… in case I can't take care of Nel, please, please promise me that, if you could. Please take care of Ichigo and Nel. This is all I ask of you, as my loving little sister._

Orihime had a pained look on her face as she read the letter, although she had never met her sister's daughter, or really her husband she had to. No matter how much she detested the idea. _'I have to. I have to do this, for Rukia's sake, I owe to her.'_Orihimevowed. And with that she began to pack her things heading off towards Ichigo's manor.

Although it would've helped some if she had read the rest of the letters inside.

"Ichigo it seems you have a visitor," his most trusted friend Abarai Renji, called over the intercom placed by Ichigo's work desk. Ichigo sighed and pressed the button back to answer. "Send them away, obviously they're so insensitive as to come seeing me on the day of my wife's funeral." Ichigo scowled, averting his gaze to the window which casted a gloomy looking scene outside. _'How cliché… it feels as if I'm in some horrible drama movie.' _he heard Renji answer back "I'm sending her up, I think you might want to see her." Ichigo scowled at the intercom, _'Hmph. Who the fuck does this person think he-'_ he stopped remembering Renji's words, "Her?" he questioned. As he was about to inquire who his guest was he heard the doors in the room squeak upon entry. The Woman he had been so rude to years ago appeared before him, wearing her mourning dress still. Her auburn hair was swept into a bun, a black hat placed on her head, as a black veil covered her face. Ichigo retained his serious and business-like composure as her body came towards his, pausing only a foot away from him, only to take a seat.

"Can I help you?" he fought against the lump in his throat as she pursed her lips for a split second. She carefully removed the hat from her head, placing it gently in her lap. Ichigo cleared his throat, seeing her large doe grey eyes shine back at his. Something about her eyes seemed… sad. _'No kidding, she just lost her sister whom she hadn't seen in over a year.'_ 'Kurosaki-kun, I know we haven't been on the best of terms," she paused "But, never the less, I'm going to be living here to take care of you and… Nel." Ichigo's frown deepened, "What? You think you can come in here and start ordering people around? And here Rukia called me selfish." Orihime felt a pang of hurt for a second, but smirked "Well, if she told you that, then she must've told her _Dear_ husband about this." she said holding up the letter Rukia had given her. Ichigo took the letter from her, reading it to himself, "So you see, Kurosaki-kun, as much as you enjoy hurting others, you won't hurt me, not anymore." she muttered the last part, but Ichigo heard it alright and glared at her. "Now, where shall my room be?" she challenged. Ichigo said nothing as he folded the letter back up and placed it to the side of his desk, "How bout this, you follow what I say? You sleep when Rukia would, you eat when Rukia would, and you take care of problems when Rukia would, and just leave me alone." he proposed. Orihime arose from her seat "I warn you Kurosaki-_kun_, I am not to be trifled with," she gritted, glaring down at him, Ichigo arose from his seat glaring down at her, "And I warn you Inoue, I am not to be trifled with also, nor am I to be challenged," Orihime opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it. "By the way, you can toss your bags in the room down the hall on the left," he said before turning his back to her, facing the window, "That's all." he finished. Orihime huffed, "How my sister can live with a… a…" she struggled for words, "A… _monster_ like you is beyond me!" she shouted at his back fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.

After her encounter with Ichigo she made her way towards one of the maids, "E-excuse me?" she called to the strawberry blonde, "Oh, hello, are you starting work here today?" Orihime scratched the back of her head, a nervous habit of hers. "A-ano…no, you see… I'm going to take on the roll of my sister, Rukia." she finished. The maid dropped the dust pan and father duster she was using to clean the coffee table. "You…? You're Inoue?" she questioned, her face in utter shock and horror. Orihime nodded in reply, which caused the maid to pull her into a tight bear hug. "Oh, how cute, you look nothing like her!" she squealed spinning her around. "I-I'm kinda getting sick…" she told the older woman as she was spinning her around. "Oh, sorry! It's just… we miss the poor Rukia-dono so much, and the thought of having another Kuchiki with me just excited me so much." she explained picking up the fallen cleaning utensils, to place them on the table. "Why… I almost came right of my top!" she said giggling behind the back of her hand. Orihime blushed, and continued, "I… ano… what I meant to say, forgive my rudeness, but I was hoping that you could tell me where the guest room is, you see Kurosaki-kun told me where it was, but I was so heated up in the moment and I wasn't particularly interested in what he said so I-" she rambled on, but was silenced as a hand lifted into the air. "Say no more, I will help you Inoue." she chirped guiding the auburn down the corridor. "P-please, call me Orihime." the younger girl beamed, delighted at her new friend's hospitality. "Very well then, Ori-hi-me-chan!" she accentuated her name as if saying 'Do-rei-me'.

Arriving into the guest room, Orihime looked around and gasped in awe at the beautiful western style décor. The White classic bureau, trimmed on the sides with gold, matched the vanity table, chair, bed, and lamp which hanged in the corner of the room. The walls trimmed with a cream color, as the wooden floors remained shined and furnished. It even had a window box with little pillows displayed upon it. The room was purely and inevitably displayed as elegant. _'Maybe Kurosaki-kun wasn't a monster.'_ she thought to her self as she gave a silent blessing to the tangerine haired man. As if on cue Ichigo entered the room exchanging glances from Ragiku to Orihime. "What're you doing in here, I told you it was down the hall on the left." he said in an arrogant tone. Orihime felt time tick by slowly as it dawned on her that she had been in the wrong room. "…Oh… gomen." was all she said, not wanting to make herself more embarrassed than she already was. As she slowly made her way outside, Ichigo couldn't help but feel almost guilty for the poor girl, _'Almost.'_ he chuckled inwardly. He led her to a simple wooden door, and unlocked it with a skeleton key, Orihime looked past his shoulder to see, to her dismay, that it was but a simple room, no elegance, no charm, just a bed, a chest of drawers, and a table complete with a lamp. She felt as if her happiness had deflated like a hot air balloon. "I really do hope you enjoy you're stays here, now, just to let you know, Rukia always woke up around… dawn and she had chores." he smirked upon seeing her shocked face, as he handed her a list of chores.

Orihime read through the chores and stared defiantly back up at the man, "What kind of Husband makes his wife tend to the chicken's in the coop at dawn?" she placed her hands on her hips, astonished at what a wife had to go through, especially with this man. "Ah Inoue, you should know what its like to be a wife shouldn't you? I mean, what kind of girl as…" he paused in deep thought as if searching his memory for the right word, "…_Bountiful_ as you wouldn't be married?" Orihime crumbled the paper into her fist, as she huffed and turned around, no longer wanting to see him. "Oh wait; you didn't forget to give me a good night kiss did you?" Orihime blushed furiously as she lightly flinched at his arm resting on her shoulder. "I mean you _are_ supposed to take over Rukia's duties right?" Orihime turned around to face the man she called her 'Brother-in-law'. Ichigo smirked and patted her head lightly at seeing her flustered and bothered. Orihime shrugged his arm away from her and pushed him toward the door. "You know… sexual tension isn't too good for you-" the door slammed shut as he was kicked out of the young maiden's room. "-I have a doctor that would _love_ to treat you if you want." he grinned boyishly upon hearing her embarrassed groans.

It was early. No, sorry that was a little bit of an understatement, it was still dark, and not even the roosters were awake. It was dawn. Orihime had set the alarm clock for the appropriate time, and got dressed. She made her breakfast, Toast and Oatmeal, with her own special ingredients, and ventured out for her chores. _'But first…'_ she went up the stairs and knocked on one of the doors. After the second knock she heard foot steps and a yawn coming from behind the door. "Shuhei I said no more-" Rangiku whispered upon opening up the door, seeing Orihime fully dressed and wearing an apron. "Orihi-" the auburn girl quickly placed her hand over the blonde haired woman's mouth signaling her to be quiet. The Maid complied and closed the door behind her, leaving them out in the hall alone. "Orihime, do you have any idea what time it is?" Rangiku whispered harshly, covering the opening in her robe even more. "G-gomenosai Rangiku-chan, but I needed to know," she paused hearing someone else stir awake inside. The two waited a moment and then continued, "I needed to know where Nel-chan's room is." she finished giving Rangiku a remorseful look. _'Poor girl… she must have never seen Nel-chan… especially if her sister never came to let her see her daughter before.'_ glancing up and down the hall way as if they were doing something conniving, Rangiku grabbed Orihime's hand and motioned for her to follow her lead. "Arigato, Rangiku-chan." Orihime smiled brightly.

The two entered down hall way's until they reached a door, "Just be quick, Ichigo doesn't like it when anyone sees Nel." she explained quietly peeking through the crack of the door, until she opened it wide enough for Orihime to fit through. _'That man…'_ Orihime thought bitterly, but soon felt peace and happiness as she saw her niece. Nel was about Three to Four feet tall; she had light green curly hair and was cutely sucking her thumb, as laid sleeping in her crib. _'I wish…I could have one of my own…'_ Orihime smiled and stroked the sleeping child's face soothingly, as she thought and daydreamed of what parenthood would belike for her. The light from the hall way door peeked in, showing a shadow from behind her, as Orihime spun around to see who it was, and the person hand gripped her hand and covered her mouth muffling Orihime's cries for help. The figure continued to pull and drag her out of the room and closed the door, when she was out side in the hall way she saw Rangiku looking at her in a pained expression. "What do you think you're doing?" a harsh masculine voice whispered. Orihime peered up to see a man with Red hair pulled back into a high ponytail, his face and chest covered in tattoos, and only a white bandana tied around his forehead. "I-" Orihime tried to explain, "Don't you know what the consequences would be if Kurosaki found out that you went into that room?" he scolded raising his voice a little higher than what he should have. "I-" she tried again, but was cut off, "If you hurt Nel or as much as-" Rangiku stepped between the red haired man and Orihime. "Now, now Renji, you know what Dr. Unohana said about raising your temper, it'll get you high blood pressure." Rangiku intervened playfully scolding the red haired man. The man took a deep breath and recomposed himself, judging from the way he did it, it seemed as if it was a breathing exercise. "I was just showing Orihime-chan here were she'll be feeding and nursing he baby," she lied. Renji looked from Orihime to Rangiku, then back to the nursery's door. "You mean… she was…" his face turned crimson, earning a confused look from Orihime, "Yes, she's the nurse, and she was breast-feeding the baby." she finished. Orihime felt her face go on fire in embarrassment, "R-r-r-r-rangiku-chan!" she squeaked in embarrassment. "I mean, it's a good thing she's doing it, what with she has to offer, that baby'll be full for a whole month!" she joked, laughing lightly at the two's humiliated expressions. Renji fake coughed and fought for his composure back, "W-well, in that case, at least let me know when you'll be in there, Kurosaki is very possessive, especially after..." his voice trailed off and Orihime swore he had a look of great loss flash through his face, "Well, anyway, good day." he said turning on his heel towards the stairs.

"Phew, that was close huh?" Rangiku said pretending to whip the sweat from her brow in relief. _'Did he…?'_ Orihime wondered, watching Renji's retreating form disappear down stairs. "Hime? You okay?" Rangiku called, snapping the younger woman out of her thoughts, "Huh? Oh yes I'm fine I was just-you know….hahahaha…" she nervously laughed earning a questioning glance from the older woman. "Okay, well I'm going to bed, have fun doing… what ever it is you're going to do." she said making her way back to her room for sleep. "Okay, now it's time for work!" she proudly held up the cleaning utensils she had brought with her, to begin her daily chores.

As Orihime made her way past the garden she got on her knees near the patch of sweet potatoes that lay dormant under the thick Oak tree. She grabbed her gardening tools and began taking out the ripened vegetables. _'This'll taste so good, especially with Butter and Bean paste! Oh maybe I'll make a pie-'_ her train of thoughts stopped as she saw Ichigo making his way towards her, as he was nearing closer and closer Orihime prepared her self to get insulted. But was shocked to find that he had placed his hand on her shoulder, as he bent down to her level, "C'mon get up…" he said gruffly. Orihime obliged and stood to up, her gaze never leaving his. "I was…I mean, I didn't think you really would do all this…" he struggled to find his words as he felt weak under her intense gaze. Orihime swiped the few fallen strands of hair that were in her face, "Wh-what do you mean, I didn't do anything wrong did I?" she asked worriedly, Ichigo fake coughed, a trait he picked up from Renji whenever he was in an awkward situation, "No, It's my Fault, I was joking when I gave you that list, I was just being a jerk." he finished scratching the back of his head. "Orihime simply blinked in stupor at him and his apology, and then smiled a mega watt smile, "No need to get down on yourself Kurosaki-Kun, its okay, I'm just glad you apologized." she said smiling still. Ichigo fought against the streak of red that threatened to appear on his face, "Well, since that's out of the way and done- wait. You… you didn't do all the chores did you?" he asked, she simply beamed and nodded her head enthusiastically. "O-oi, how did… how did you change all of the light bulbs in the bathrooms? The ladder is locked up in the shed!" he gawked at the young maiden before him, "Oh, well that explains why I couldn't find a ladder around here… I used a chair instead." she replied, Ichigo dead panned, "Are you crazy? A chair can't reach that kind of height!" he felt a strange feeling in his heart at the thought of her hurting herself. "Oh, well… I used a lot of chairs! I pilled them up and… Ne, ne Kurosaki-kun what's wrong?" she asked seeing Ichigo give her a shocked look. "N-nothing… the important thing is that you're okay, I guess that's okay… just don't do that next time okay?" he chastised her. Orihime looked down at her dirt covered shoes, "O-oh, gomenosai…" she whispered her face very remorseful.

Ichigo coughed again, "Look, let's just get you cleaned up okay? You had a long day, just go take a bath and relax, okay?" he offered guiding her inside the manor. _'Kurosaki-kun… you always surprise me… no wonder why Rukia-chan married you.'_ she smiled, saying a silent prayer in her head for her deceased sibling.

Orihime went inside the manor and into her room, there she undressed and pulled a towel around her body, shielding her self from prying eyes, as she made her way towards the bathroom. "Hime, are you decent?" Rangiku asked, not bothering to wait for her answer she opened the door and let herself in. "Rangiku-chan, what're you doing here?" Orihime blushed feeling uncomfortable at the coy look her friend was giving her. "Oh Pooh, is it such an inconvenience that I just wanted to say 'hello' and that if you wanted to bathe together?" she said pretending to be hurt. "Oh, n-no it's no convenience at all, I was just wondering." Rangiku wrapped her arm around her friend and pulled her close to her, "Well c'mon let's go, the bath isn't going to get any warmer!" she beamed and pulled her shy friend with her outside from her room. "R-rangiku-chan… w-w-w-ait!" Orihime called to her friend, begging for her to stop. As if on cue se stopped and the two were face to face with Ichigo and Renji. "K-kurosaki-kun!" she squeaked hiding behind her friend, "I hope you have something under that towel," he said. "Oh C'mon Ichigo, y'know you want a peek at what's behind…." she pulled Orihime from behind her and grabbed onto the sides of her towel, "…Curtain number one!" she finished pulling the towel off her friend's body. Both Renji and Ichigo blushed furiously, only Renji fainted as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, leaving Ichigo with a massive nose bleed trickling down his chin. "D-dammit Matsumoto!" he yelled over the strawberry blonde woman's hearty laughter. He bent down and wrapped the towel around Orihime's blushing body, covering her from any more eyes. "A-arigato K-kurosaki-kun…" she muttered averting his eyes, wishing for the world to swallow her whole and never let her out. "Awww… you're no fun Ichigo, you never let me play around with you." she pouted placing her arms under her enormously large breasts causing them to stick out more than usual. "That's because you're idea of fun isn't … what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, _Fun!_" he snapped.

Rangiku and Ichigo began fighting and taunting one another leaving their guest humiliated. "That's it I'm telling Toshiro!" he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, opening it up and dialing a number. "No! Please, please, please! Hitsugaya never let's me have fun!" she begged reaching for the phone, but missed as height was her disadvantage. Ichigo stuck his tongue at her and mocked her, "Then behave yourself," he scolded her placing the phone back in his pocket. Rangiku pouted, but agreed. "Great, now I just need Renji to wake up…" he sighed as he lightly kicked at his friend's side in an effort to wake him up. Ichigo glanced back at Orihime who was still blushing and then back at Renji, "Er, How bout you two go take a bath first and leave us alone for a while." he said looking back at Renji's stupor expression. Rangiku complied and pulled Orihime who was as stiff as a statue in the direction of the Bathroom. "By the way, you might want to whip that trail of blood from your nose, red doesn't suit your hair!" she teased, as she yelled back to him over her shoulder. Ichigo whipped his nose with his sleeve and saw the crimson color in front of his eyes, _'Dammit all… everyone's making fun of me…'_ he pouted and glared at the female's direction. _'But man was it worth it…'_ a chill ran down his spine at his last thoughts, and backed away from Renji. _'Fuck, not again…not now…'_ he hastily made his way to his room, slamming and locking the door in one swift motion.

**Author's Corner:** Muwhahahaahaha! I am proud to say that this is my most prized work! It took me a whole day, and I had to get a Tetniss shot from the doctors, and come back and type more of this. I have just passed a milestone people, It's I believe my most typed document ever! O.O (dun, dun, dun…). I would like to thank a lot of people for reading and reviewing my work. I would like to say that this is set in the present (incase you were confused). It started I Spring that Ichigo and Rukia wed, but Orihime went to visit Kurosaki manor in the fall. At least I'd like to point that just to let people know, it may take me awhile to get to this because of school (boo!). : P anyways, secrets will be revealed about the past! Why is Ichigo acting weird? Why is he such a bastard towards Inoue? What is Rukia to Renji? What is Rukia to Ichigo? Does Orihime hate Ichigo? What happened to Aizen Gin and Tosen? Why am I asking you all of these questions? All will be revealed soon enough my friends… Also when they were kids here's the ages:

**Rukia:** 9 (20) **Ichigo:** 7 (18) **Orihime: **5 (16)

**-Booberrychan out!**


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